"We want to change the culture of those people who are custodians of records, of public officials, who think it is their responsibility and duty to keep these things from the public," Weinberg (D-Bergen) said at a news conference in Trenton. "The public owns everything we do."

One measure would update the 2001 Open Public Records Act and rename it in honor of Martin O’Shea, a retired newspaper reporter and editor who bedeviled government officials with detailed requests and a willingness to take denials to court. O’Shea died in December.

The other measure, involving the Sen. Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act, would affect how officials publicize upcoming meetings, and require they list the precise time when the meeting will be open to public comment. It also would add provisions involving electronic communication.

But not all of them have time or money to fight for it.

This is especially true if it's happening in a different town than their own.

Hoboken Sunshine Act

We the undersigned, registered voters of the City of Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey, under the initiative and referendum power granted by N.J.S.A. 40:69A-184 et. seq., hereby propose the following Ordinance:

Short title: This Ordinance may be cited as the “Hoboken Sunshine Act” and is referred to below as the “Act.”

Findings: The people of the City of Hoboken find that good government depends on knowledgeable citizens who have broad access to government meetings and who have ready and inexpensive access to a wide range of government information. Such access enables them to participate fully in public affairs, help determine governmental priorities and to hold their public officials accountable. Inadequate or delayed public access to meetings and information allows corruption to flourish undetected and unpunished. Government secrecy allows backroom deals to set public policy in the interest of the few rather than the many. It is therefore the policy of City of Hoboken to (a) promptly make agendas, minutes, resolutions, ordinances, and certain other records available to the public on the Internet, (b) have meaningful electronic versions of other government records available at an affordable cost, (c) make photocopies and other records available at an affordable cost; (d) to increase the opportunities for public participation at all government meetings and to make such participation more meaningful and (e) to otherwise endeavor to make the City’s government a model of openness and transparency. It is understood, accepted and intended by the people of the City of Hoboken that this Act will impose responsibilities upon the City’s officials and employees greater than what is required by the Open Public Meetings Act and the Open Public Records Act.

While it said governmental agencies can impose "reasonable guidelines" to make sure the recording does not disrupt their official business, the high court unanimously ruled in favor of Robert Wayne Tarus, a gadfly from Camden County who was arrested after he tried to videotape two Pine Hill Borough Council meetings in 2000.

The justices found the Pine Hill mayor was "arbitrary and unreasonable" in ordering the police chief to arrest Tarus -- a longtime critic of the mayor and council --because the borough had never adopted formal guidelines for videotaping public meetings.

But the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee indefinitely postponed voting on a bipartisan measure that would allow Internet postings to replace traditional newspaper advertisements.

I stopped by the Black Bear Pub earlier tonight to wish my co-worker and long-time friend, Hoboken Police Captain ANTHONY ROMANO, the best of luck in the upcoming Board of Education race. 

While there, I had an excellent conversation with Hoboken Councilman At Large PETER CAMMARANO with respect to N.J. Senate Bill S.1219.  The legislation provides for much needed amendments to both the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and Open Public Records Act (OPRA). 

It was a pleasure to find Councilman Cammarano very knowledgeable about the pending N.J. Senate legislation and Cammarano went as far as expressing an interest in presenting the amendments to the Hoboken City Council.

The Hoboken Reporter newspaper reported that on February 7, 2006, Mayor Roberts' education initiative held an invitation-only event for about 40 community leaders who have a stake in the city's educational system.

The meeting, which was closed to the press, was held at the house of Stevens Institute of Technology's President Harold Raveche. Roberts said that the press was not invited to the meeting so that it would not be politicized. According to Roberts, attendees included almost every Hoboken elected official from the City Council and the Board of Education, district administrations, city educators, and local business and civic leaders.

The meeting, which was closed to the press, was held at the house of Stevens Institute of Technology's President Harold Raveche. Roberts said that the press was not invited to the meeting so that it would not be politicized. According to Roberts, attendees included almost every Hoboken elected official from the City Council and the Board of Education, district administrations, city educators, and local business and civic leaders.

Even though there was more than a quorum of both the City Council and Board of Education, the city's attorney, Joseph Sherman, said that the meeting did not violate the state's Sunshine Law. Sherman said that the event was "a social gathering" where no action was taken, and the focus of the meeting was to allow people to talk in general terms about "education in Hoboken in the 21st century."

The Reporter spent the past month sitting in on public meetings in Hoboken, Jersey City, North Bergen, Secaucus, Union City, and West New York. At some meetings, politicians did a good job of explaining the proposed town ordinances and fostering open discussion, while other meetings were quick and saw speedy votes.